Reactions to my post about annoyances in Spain

[Ben]

I'm sitting here at midnight hitting refresh on the homepage of notesfromspain.com watching more and more comments pour in from Spanish people about my post "The 10 Most annoying things about Spain"... and I'm quite amazed to see just how many of the reactions have been 'I agree'.

OK, so there has been the usual slew of insults, including a couple of threats of extreme violence that I filtered out, but it seems, perhaps, that some Spanish people can actually take criticism. Amazing.

I want to go to bed but worry about what I'll find scrawled on the blog in the morning. Might set all comments to 'moderated'!

[omeyas]

As a contributor, I have quite enjoyed it! It could run and run, plenty of mileage left in it yet, I'd have thought. As you say, a lot of predictable stuff, but some sensible observations as well. You're a bloody stirrer, you are!
I expect "troll" is the same in Spanish!

[richardksa]

I was frankly shocked at some of the more bigoted comments. Whatever did they say in the comments you moderated? It's a difficult situation. Is it that those of us who have made Spain our home because we like 99.9% of what we have found are not allowed to comment on the 0.1% that annoys us. As many of your Spanish respondents say, they find these things annoying too. Yet, because we are not native, are we extranjeros meant to say nothing?
I could write a book based on my native born landlady's complaints about her country and I could also write one based on what I love about it.
And as for those who retaliate with what's wrong with Britain - well, why do you think we left it for somewhre we think is better?

[Ben]

Originally Posted by richardksa

I was frankly shocked at some of the more bigoted comments. Whatever did they say in the comments you moderated?

Here are a few, I have added ***s where necessary!:

"Las mujeres españolas se depilan y son atractivas sexualmente, las inglesas son unas cerdas peludas y obesas que no conseguirían tirarse a un satiriásico ni pagando."

"A vosotros que COJONES os importa ESPAÑA. Iros a vuestro puto país bajo la lluvia y la niebla con Jack el Destripador. Que no habéis comido bien en vuestra puta vida. A ver si de una jodida vez alguien le quita el tapón al pedazo de tierra ese en el que estáis y os hundís todos el la mierda."

"In that case, f***ing english, go out to your bullshit country home, we dont like to see your f***ing shape crossing our frontiers, f***ing maggot, bisexual english, get out from spain!!"

"¡Muérete cabrón!"

"GUIRIS DE MIERDA IROS DE ESPAÑA YA! A VOMITAR A VUESTRO PUTO PAIS CON VUESTRA PUTA REINA Y LA MADRE QUE OS PARIÓ. TE LO JURO COMO TE CRUCES EN MI VIDA Ben Curtis de los COJONES, TE VOY A FOSTIAR HASTA QUE HABLES LATIN, HIJO DE UNA PUTA!!."



Quite creative stuff really!

[omeyas]

Originally Posted by Ben

Quite creative stuff really!

Indeed, quite a lot of thought must have gone into those comments. I read a few of their forums, and often they fast run out of arguments and resort to that measured kind of replies. And quite racists too. As I said before they generally save a lot of their venom for Lewis Hamilton and his dad. He´s el negrito, el negrón, el negro, and normally "pañuelos meados" comes into it somewhere. Entertaining stuff though!

[eli_web]

Vaya, yo no lo había leído, lo acabo de leer.
La verdad es que yo estoy totalmente de acuerdo.

Sobre los comentarios....... me he quedado sin palabras .......la de barbaridades que se han escrito.....

[Ben]

OMG they have published it is 20 Minuots! Now you can really read some nasty comments!!

[richardksa]

As Oscar Wilde may have put it: One thing worse than being read and criticised is not being read at all.

Maybe your words will actually bring some needed changes. Before things can change you have to have the debate.

[Ben]

Not sure how much debate you get out of the average 20minutos.com reader....

[richardksa]

And just to show a singlar lack of understanding the British sense of humour:

Quote from a 20 minutos comment:"esas interminables peliculas que van entre los anuncios de la tele..."....está mal traducido, lo interminable son los anuncios, no las peliculas.

Remember how I was warned about my British tongue in cheek earlier this year?

[eli_web]

Originally Posted by richardksa

Quote from a 20 minutos comment:"esas interminables peliculas que van entre los anuncios de la tele..."....está mal traducido, lo interminable son los anuncios, no las peliculas.

Yo creo que no, las películas són ¡eternas! a causa de los anuncios, una película de 2 horas puede durar (con anuncios) ¡¡unas 4 horas!!

[Palmerito]

Ben, when I saw the title of the post, even before reading it and seeing that there had already been (at that time) 92 replies, I thought to myself, "Uh. oh, this is going to be contentious". and I wasn't disappointed.

I lived in Puerto Rico for five years. After about half of that time I felt Puerto Rican enough to be able to legitimately level some criticisms about that wonderful island which I love and called my home for half a decade.

My take on all of this is that as a resident of Spain for the last nine years, you have every right to express your opinions. The fact that this is your home says that you love Spain despite these annoyances. Your purpose is to express hope that there may some solutions.

As an American, I am quite used to criticism of my country - from citizens, visitors, immigrants (illegal and legal), and those who have never set foot on these shores. I have quite a few complaints of my own, to be sure. But the instinct to immediately react negatively isn't there any more. I accept what criticisms are valid, reject those which are false or mean-spirited and realize that generalisations are almost futile in a country so diverse. I'm sure you realise this about Spain as well.

[Ben]

I just have to add one more of the offensive comments, if only for the last line (again, some words have been ***ed out):

"querido chupap****s lechoso. nose que te pasa a ti ,si es que en tu pais de mierda, no te escuchan o simplemente eres invecil.En españa hacemos lo nos sale de los c****es y si no te gusta no vengas que nadie te ha invitado.Por cierto para hacer una lsita de las cosas basura de inglaterra no sitio ni en internet. Me c**o en la p**a de la reina madre y en tus sus sntos muertos. Muchas gracias afectuosamente y sin animo de ofender, Paco"

[Beckett]

Paco missed his calling as a stand-up comic. Get that man an agent! He could be the Spanish Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor.


And I love, LOVE how some Spanish people criticize foreigners for not learning Spanish when they don't know Spanish either!!! Case in point: "invecil."

[eldeano]

Ben, I think you should start another thread - 10 ways to get up a Spaniards c**o.

[ValenciaSon]

I don't get how Hollywood and the Internet are manifestations of the US's expectations that the world should speak english.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by eldeano

Ben, I think you should start another thread - 10 ways to get up a Spaniards c**o.

After the latest comment I just received, including the NAME OF MY STREET in Madrid, I think I'll quit ragging on the Spanish for a while. Here is the comment, check out his email address:

New comment on your post #912 "The 10 MOST annoying things about the UK"
Author : spaniard (IP: saved in case I disappear!)
E-mail : stabbed@english.com
URL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POU5miv9vcc&NR=1
Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=HIS IP ADDRESS
Comment:
Ben, i dont live in madrid, but if i go soon to madrid i will check [NAME OF OUR STREET] street out, people say its a very cool street.

[gtappend]

When you have company status, won't you have to put your postal address in Madrid on the site anyway? (Imprint/Impressum/Aviso Legal)

[eldeano]

Originally Posted by Ben

After the latest comment I just received, including the NAME OF MY STREET in Madrid, I think I'll quit ragging on the Spanish for a while. Here is the comment, check out his email address:

New comment on your post #912 "The 10 MOST annoying things about the UK"
Author : spaniard (IP: saved in case I disappear!)
E-mail : stabbed@english.com
URL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POU5miv9vcc&NR=1
Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=HIS IP ADDRESS
Comment:
Ben, i dont live in madrid, but if i go soon to madrid i will check [NAME OF OUR STREET] street out, people say its a very cool street.

That's just plain wrong. It's a very threatening post - couldn't you pass the IP details to the IT police?

[tomc52]

I think the Spanish skinheads hate the English and vice-versa. Maybe they should get together and "sort out their differences". It might solve two problems et once.